Earlier this year (March 2017) we reported how the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture issued "cease and desist" orders to a few small-scale Amish egg farmers in Wisconsin who have been shipping soy-free cage-free eggs to customers across the U.S. for over 7 years.
The main complaint from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture was that they were shipping the eggs to the consumers unrefrigerated.
It was discovered that the complaint did not originate from any customers, but from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). CDFA had previously seized shipments of these farm eggs back in 2012, and were apparently upset that they were coming into California unrefrigerated.
The farmers and representatives from Tropical Traditions/Healthy Traditions worked with the Wisconsin regulators, who responded appropriately and allowed the farmers to continue shipping their eggs. They met with the farmers, and the farmers agreed to make some minor adjustments to comply with Wisconsin State regulations.
However, California CDFA was not through. Even though there is no record of any customer complaint about the Wisconsin eggs, they used a Dog Team to sniff out a consumer box of eggs at a FedEx facility and destroy them.
Does CDFA have the right to search and destroy private property in a FedEx facility? Will they also begin searching automobiles and other vehicles entering the state of California for food that does not meet their regulatory standards? Is this a good use of taxpayer funds?